My Experience With Driving Safety

Driving safety is a topic I am passionate about because my family and I were involved in an accident back in the summer of 2016. Although it was a while ago, this accident still affects me to this day. When I was thirteen years old, my family was coming home from my sister’s softball tournament in Connecticut. As my mom was driving back through New Jersey to get my sisters, aunt, cousin, and I home to Pennsylvania, a tractor trailer rear ended our car. The tractor trailer driver fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of his truck. Thankfully, none of my family members or I was severely hurt from this accident but , after hearing the screams of my family members, the glass breaking, and seeing the tears stream down our faces, developed anxiety towards driving nearly instantly after the accident that July evening. I still had a few years to get my license, but during that time I had no interest in being in or near a car. When I had to be in a car I would try my best to keep my eyes off the road but whenever my mom stopped suddenly or I heard the sirens of any first responder vehicle, I would jump and sometimes go into a panic attack. This behavior continued until I was 18 years old. The freedom of driving wherever you want, whenever you want is a very powerful feeling for a teenager but “With great power comes great responsibility.” Although, there are many outside factors that could result in a safe driver being involved in an unsafe situation. There are also many steps you can take to prevent accidents and make sure you are the safest driver you can be, Including paying attention to your surroundings, never driving under the influence, watching your speed, etc. But I would say the most important step you can take to stay safe on the roads is to participate in a Driver’s Education course. Driver’s Education is important because it helps reduce the number of deaths related to driving by teaching or enhancing a drivers’ knowledge. All drivers, including people that have been driving for years can benefit in taking a Driver’s Education course anytime because the longer a person has been driving, the less familiar they tend to be with driving rules. Most drivers only remember enough information from a driver’s manual to get through the test and then quickly forget the information. So, by taking a Driver’s Ed course you learn the rules of the road, defensive driving, and so you can build confidence. Although my driving anxiety is not gone, it has gotten better. I can be in a car without having a panic attack and I even got my license at the age of 19. Making sure I am well rested before driving, keeping a safe distance away from other cars, and making sure my phone is turned off and put away so I am not distracted by text messages or calls are some precautions I take while I drive. Before getting my license my family hired a driving instructor for me. Since it has been a few years since I took a Drivers Education course I had trouble remembering some of the rules of the road. Having a driving instructor really helped me to relearn some of the rules of driving and become more comfortable behind the wheel. I remember when I had my first lesson with my driving instructor. I did not sleep the night before because I was so anxious. Minutes before my instructor arrived. My heart was beating out of my chest and I couldn’t catch my breath. When I first met my instructor he reassured me that I will be okay and that most of the time driving anxiety doesn’t come from driving itself. But it comes from how your passenger reacts to your driving and the anxious energy they give. For example, when my mom tried to teach me how to drive. She would hold onto the roof handle, have a harsh tone in her voice when giving directions or if I made a mistake, and sometimes hit the imaginary break with her foot. At first, I didn’t think that was the problem of my driving anxiety. I was in an accident, so I was scared to get into another. But after the 2 hours I spent with my driver instructor, my mindset had changed from not being able to sit in the driver’s seat of a car, to now driving myself to work everyday. I realized that there was no quick fix for this challenge and I knew it was going to be a long and hard road but all good things take time. Being in a car accident creates a lot of fear and makes it hard for a new driver to get started, but that continues to inspire me to be a safe driver myself and encourage others to protect themselves and those around them.